The Arizona champion., 1887-12-17
THE ASSAULT vN SHEEP OWNERS.

class of producers to the revenue of the country more than by the wool growers. At them and their valuable industry it strikes fatal blow, if carried out
 Meetings have already been held in several of the prsncipal cities of the Union and measures are being taken to present bill to the present Con. gross, in order that they may be pro tected in their sights, and for the res. toration of the tariff on wool or at least to prevent any further reduction of the existing tariff.
 The national wool growers associs. tion at their session in Washington, representing capital of over $500, 900 1000 and a constituency of ,000, 900 wool growers and dealers dec lare that the message of the President is a direct attack upon their industry one of the most important in the country. That the argument made by the Presi- dent for the removal of their protection against foreign competition, is the old one repeatedly made by the enemies of their industrial progress and effectively answered in nearly every school district of our land, and so thoroughly disproved by logic of facts and demonstration of experience and history as to need no answer from them, They acknowledge that 'their small holdings" their scat tered and unorganized condition, makes them the easy prey of the free trader, but they had right to expect some thing different from the Chief Execu- tive of the nation, at once the most happy, prosperous, and contented of any in the world, made so by the poll yof protection and development, which he now seeks to destroy. They conclu de by saying "We had right to ex- pect our President would favor the wooLgrowers of the United States, and confess our deep disappointment that instead he favors the interests of our foreign competitors
 A large number of prominent wool. growers met at the office of Christy & Wise in San Francisco and endorsed the resolutions of the National Wool growers Association condemning the Presidents message to Congress. Are duction in the tariff on wool would work an incalcuable injury and loss to one of the leading industries of large number of States and Territories and particularly would it be felt by the wool-growers and sheep-owners of Ari- 1nna, California and New Mexico.
 No reliable figures showing the value of the wool crop last year have been given to the public, but the production in pounds is estimated at 25s, s,000,OO which at an average rate of 35c a pound, was worth about s99, 900.
 It appears to be the policy of the present administration to put imports of wool on the free list. This purpose is clearly shown in the message of the President. the report of the secretary of the treasury, and addresses and newspaper talks made by prominent free traders. The abolition of the duty on wool will be one of the leading pro- visions in the tariff-reduction bill to be prepared by the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Represen- tativos The passage of an act with that clause would instantly and mater. ially reduce the value of every sheep owned in the country, The duty on the foreign wool which comes into direct competition with the American product averages, approximately, about 60 DOT cent on it's price. In 1888 there was a reduction made in the duties on wool. and the effect of this was to bring down the number of sheep in the country from 50,626, ,626 in the latter part of 1883 when the ef. feet of the act began to be felt, to A. 759,3l4 at the beginning of the present year.
 We do not believe that members d Congress from any of the states or ter. ritories, which are interested in wool production, will vote for a measure which will oonfsicate the property of 8 large and influential portion of thsir constituents and cripple one of the most important industries of the United States. But we are of the opinion that our senators and Representatives will oppose any such scheme as fsyors